Check out this awesome project that homeowner Gary Rhile recently shared with us! This is a mudroom floor that started out as old, bare concrete.
Gary shared the following notes and advice:
The room is small (13x13) so I used a hand grinder with a shop vac attachment. There was no dust at all and it only took about two hours (a lot cheaper than renting a commercial grinder.)
The coatings went on really well. They mixed exactly as shown on the video. Since I've never done trowel work it actually was to my benefit to put a lot of coats on. By the 4th coat I felt comfortable putting it on.
The biggest mistake I made was pouring too much out of the bucket on the first coat but I went back to the video and noticed how much the man in the video used and followed his lead.
By the third coat I still had small air bubbles (found out they're called bug holes). I waited till that coat dried and used a very small batch to rub it into the holes with a surgical glove on. No more holes.
Before putting the stain down I taped off the doors and lower part of the walls (bottom foot).
One issue I had with the stain was the cheap sprayer I used put the stain down with small air bubbles so that the stain didn't touch the concrete. Make sure you have a brush on a pole in case that happens so you don't have to walk back into the stain.
For DIY like myself make sure you have a transition area from the stained area to the clean area! I used cardboard from replacement windows so I didn't ruin any tarps.
The only piece of equipment I rented was a floor buffer so I could sand down the final coat before staining.
Three biggest tips for DIY:
- Watch the video several times.
- Plan every step (mixing, application, and cleanup) so you have everything ready.
- Don't panic when you see the horrible, dark, blotchy, dull mess you made of your floor.
Once it it cleaned and sealed you'll love the results.
Everyone who sees it will ask how you did it and remark about how great it looks. Because of using so many coats (it's not just a way to get you to spend more money!) the coloring in the floor looks very deep. One of my friends said, "It looks like you can climb into it."
Products & Techniques Used
- Started with 34-year-old concrete ground to a raw state.
- 1 coat of gray rough grade and 7 coats of gray smooth grade—sanded with 150 grit after last coat.
- 2 coats of VIVID™ Acid Stain in coffee color
- 2 coats of SuperSeal™ 2000 and 8 coats of EZ-Wax™
